As of Friday, April 2, 2021, Montana reports 104,853 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 133 new cases reported in the last day: 34 in Gallatin County, 20 in Missoula County, 16 in Yellowstone County, 11 in Big Horn County, 10 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 16 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 969. Currently, 47 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Gallatin, Missoula, and Yellowstone Counties. 1,454 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Sixteen more deaths have been reported in the last day. Nationwide, more than 553,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 30,600,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The U.S. Capitol complex was in lockdown on Friday afternoon after a vehicle attempted to ram into a barrier, leaving two police officers and the suspect injured, Capitol Police said in a statement. The suspect is in custody, according to police. A spokesperson for the Washington D.C. Fire and EMS Department says at least one person has been shot near the U.S. Capitol. Congress is in spring recess for the week, so lawmakers had turned home and were not working in the building. A heavy law-enforcement presence quickly descended upon the complex. Security at the Capitol has been heightened with extra security measures and personnel in place since a mob of Trump supporters stormed the complex during the Jan. 6 electoral vote count before a joint session of Congress.

The remaining two games of the Washington Nationals’ season-opener series with the New York Mets have been postponed due to ongoing Covid-19 issues within the Nationals team. Games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Nationals Park have been postponed, a day after the postponement of the two teams’ season opening game Thursday. At least three Nationals’ players have tested positive for Covid-19. The team says a fourth player is considered a “likely” positive. None of the players were identified. On Wednesday, it was announced that one player on the Nationals had tested positive and that four other players were placed in quarantine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can travel freely in the U.S., as long as they wear face masks covering the nose and mouth in public and on planes, buses and trains. It is unclear how much impact the new guidance will have. People are already traveling. American Airlines reported Monday that the company’s bookings have jumped to 90 percent of what they were before the pandemic. Still, the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise. The current seven-day average of new cases is slightly above 62,000 cases per day. While fully vaccinated people may travel at low risk, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said, “CDC is not recommending travel at this time due to the rising number of cases.”

A Missoula man drowned while ice fishing south of Libby earlier this week, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said. Sheriff Darren Short said someone reported seeing ice fishing gear sitting on the ice near a hole in Lower Thompson Lake early Monday afternoon. Witnesses had seen someone ice fishing earlier that morning and it was determined the fisherman may have fallen through the ice. Crews using ice rescue equipment recovered the body of Michael Larson, 71.